Regulator having cut-out relay protection



Aug. 11, 1964 J. E. YOUNG REGULATOR HAVING CUT-OUT RELAY PROTECTION Filed Feb. 24, 1961 INVENTOR. JOHN E YOUNG H/S ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,144,532 'REGULATQR HAVING QUE-OUT RELAY PROTECTION John E. Young, Anderson, Ind, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 91,449 3 Claims. (Cl. 200-98) cut-out relay contacts and in series with the coil winding of 'a current regulating relay.

'In the system just described, it sometimes happens that the cut-out relay contacts stick closed when they should open such as when the engine that drives the generator is shut down and under conditions where the generator has an output voltage lower than battery voltage 'by an amount that should cause opening of the contacts. The sticking of the cut-out relay contacts can cause a very high flow of current through the contacts with a resultant discharge of the battery and damage to the electrical system. This current may become so high that the cut-out relay contacts become welded together and may even cause 'a fire in the engine compartment of the vehicle.

Itaccordinglyis an object of this invention to provide means for positively opening the cut-out relay contacts in the event of sticking or other abnormal operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for positively opening the cut-out relay contacts when the current flow through the contacts is abnormal.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for positively opening the cut-out relay contacts when the current flow through the current regulating relay coil is abnormal.

Still another object of this invention is to provide electromagnetic switching apparatus that includes a pair of coil windings and a set of contacts for each coil winding and wherein means are provided for positively opening the set of contacts associated with one of the coil windings in response to abnormal current flow through the other coil winding.

Another object of this invention is to provide electromagnetic switching apparatus comprising first and second relays each having contacts, actuating coils and armatures and wherein a link is provided that is shiftable by the armature of one of the relays and operates the armature of the other relay to separate the contacts of the' other relay when current flow is abnormal through the coil winding of the said one relay.

. of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan 'view with parts broken away of a regulator made in accordance with this invention. FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 illustrating "ice a change in position of a link member to cause an opening of the cut-out relay contacts.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURE 1, the regulator of this invention is generally designated by reference numeral 10 and includes a cutout relay 12, a current regulating relay '14, and a voltage regulating relay 16 which is partially illustrated in FIGURE 3. The voltage regulating relay plays no part in the present invention and therefore will not be described. This regulator is of'the type that is commonly used in motor vehicle electrical systems to regulate the output voltage and current of a direct current generator.

The regulator 'lll includes a base member 18 formed of a suitable metal material which supports all of the regulating relays. cover 21 which serves to enclose the regulating relays.

The current regulating relay 14 is comprised of a support member 22 which is supported by the base 18. This support member carries an armature 24 which has a conventional spring hinge connection with the support 22 so that the armature 24 may pivot relative to the support. The armature 24 carries an electrical contact 26 which may be termed the movable contact since it moves with the armature 24. The fixed contact for the current regulating relay 14 is designated by reference numeral 28 and this contact is supported by a support member 30. The support member 30 is in turn supported by a nut 32 formed of a suitable plastic material and threaded on the stud 34. The stud 34 is welded or otherwise secured to the core 36 of the current regulating relay. The support 30 also carries a fixed contact for the voltage regulating relay to in a manner which'is illustrated in co-pending application, S.N. 664,804, filed June 10, 1957, now Patent No. 3,047,693, and assigned to the assignee of this invention. It will be appreciated that the fixed contacts of the current and voltage regulating relays need "not have a common support.

The core member 36 of the current regulating relay '14 carries a coil winding 38. The core member 36 may be riveted over at its end to hold the support 22 and the core member in place with respect to the base 18. One end of the coil winding 38 is connected with a terminal-40 which is insulated from the base '18. This terminal 40 is connected with the armature terminal of a direct current generator.

The cut-out relay 12 has a support member 41 extending upwardly from the base 18. This support member pivotally supports an armature 43 having a part 42 through a suitable spring hinge connection. The support member for the cut-out relay is similar to the support member 22 of the current regulating relay and may be supported from the base 18 by a core member that is riveted over at its lower end in a fashion similar to that of the current regulating relay. The armature part 42 carries the contact 44. The cut-out relay includes a series coil winding 45 which is wound on a core. This cut-out relay also has a shunt coil winding of smaller diameter wire which cannot be seen in the drawings. One side of the coil winding 45 is connected to one side of the coil winding 38 by a lead wire 46. The opposite The base member also supports a for causing the cut-out relay contacts 44 and 54 to separate whenever there is an abnormal current flow through the current regulating coil 38. To this end, the support member 50 carries a bracket designated by reference numeral 58. This bracket is secured to the support member 50 by a fastener 60. To prevent the bracket from rotating with respect to the support 50, the bracket is formed with an opening 62 which receives a projecting portion 64 of the support 50.

'Thebracket 58 pivotally supports a lever 63. The pivot connection between the lever 63 and the bracket 58 is at 65 and 65 may be any sort of a pivot pin. The bracket 58 carries a leaf spring 67 which urges the lever 63 in a counter-c1ock-wise direction as viewed in FIG- URE 1. This pivoting of the lever is limited by a lug 66 which is formed integral with the bracket 58 One end of the lever 63 carries a button 68 which may be formed of a suitable insulating material such as nylon. This button 68 is positioned to be engaged by the underside of the current regulating relay armature 24 should the armature be pulled down a sufl'lcient distance. There is some space between the top side of the button 68 and the underside of the armature 24 so that when the current regulating relay is operating with the armature 24 moving, the lever 63 is not effected. Should the current flow through the coil 38 become abnormal, however, the armature 24 is pulled down sufficiently to cause an engagement between the underside of the armature 24 and the button 68 with a consequent clock-wise rotation of the lever 63. v The opposite end of lever 63 is positioned to becom engaged with a button 70 that is secured to the armature part 42 of the cut-out relay. In the normal position of the lever 63, the cut-out relay armature can move downwardly a sufiicient distance to cause the closure of contacts 44 and 54 without being contacted by the lever 63. If the current flow through the current regulating relay coil 38 is abnormal such as when the contacts 44 and 54 become stuck together, the lever 63 will pivot sufiiciently in a clock-wise direction to cause an engagement between it and button 70 and therefore positively force the contacts 44 and 54 to an open position.

Under normal conditions, the lever 63 will take the position illustrated in FIGURE 1, but in the condition .of abnormal current flow through coil winding 38, the

lever will take the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 where the cut-out relay contacts 44 and 54 have been forced open.

In the operation of the regulator of this invention, the regulator is connected in conventional fashion with a generator and battery. The battery is connected to the terminal 56 and thus is connected with the fixed contact 540i the cut-out relay. The armature terminal of the generator will be connected with terminal 40 and 5 it thus can be seen that charging current for the battery will pass through coil winding 38, through lead wire 46, through coil winding 45, through lead wire 48, and then through contacts 44 and 54 to the battery via terminal 56. When theelectrical system is operating in a normal fashion, the current regulating contacts will either remain closed or will vibrate open and closed when current regulation is required. During the opening and 4 together for example, when the generator is shut down or in other instances where the cut-out relay contacts should open, a high current will be supplied by the battery through the contacts 44 and 54 and through the cut-out relay winding 45 and the current regulating relay coil 38. This current when passed through the current regulating relay coil 38 is suflicient to cause the armature 24 to be attracted downwardly a sufficient dis tance to cause a pivoting of lever 63 in a clock-wise direction and a consequent forceful separation of cut-out relay contacts 44 and 54 due to engagement between lever 63 and button 70. The highly detrimental effects of sticking cut-out relay contacts is thus eliminated with switch contacts, an actuating coil and an armature carrying one of said switch contacts, a current regulating relay having an actuating coil, a pair of switch contacts and an armature that carries one of said switch contacts, and a lever pivoted between its ends having a portion located at one side of its pivot adapted to be engaged by the armature of the current regulating relay and having another portion located on an opposite side of its pivot adapted to engage the armature of the cut-out relay to positively separate the cut-out relay contacts.

2. In combination, a first relay having a first actuating coil, a first pair of switch contacts and an armature carrying one of said switch contacts, a second relay having a second actuating coil, a second pair of switch contacts and a second armature which carries one of said second contacts, a pivotally mounted lever having a portion adapted to be engaged by the armature of one of said relays and having another portion adapted to engage the armature of the other relay, resilient means for urging said lever in one direction, and stop means for limiting movement of the lever in a direction as dictated by the resilient means.

3. In combination, a first relay having a first actuating coil, a first pair of switch contacts and an armature that carries one of said first pair of switch contacts, a support member carrying the other of said first pair of switch contacts, a second relay including a second actuating coil, a second pair of switch contacts and an armature that carries one ofsaid second pair of switch contacts,a bracket member secured to the support member of said first relay, a link pivotally supported by said bracket member and having portions located in alignment with the armatures of said relays, a leaf spring carried by said bracket member for urging said lever in one direction,

and a stop member formed integral with said bracket member for limiting movement of said lever member in said one direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 16, 1937 

1. A REGULATOR COMPRISING, A CUT OUT RELAY HAVING SWITCH CONTACTS, AN ACTUATING COIL AND AN ARMATURE CARRYING ONE OF SAID SWITCH CONTACTS, A CURRENT REGULATING RELAY HAVING AN ACTUATING COIL, A PAIR OF SWITCH CONTACTS AND AN ARMATURE THAT CARRIES ONE OF SAID SWITCH CONTACTS, AND A LEVER PIVOTED BETWEEN ITS ENDS HAVING A PORTION LOCATED AT ONE SIDE OF ITS PIVOT ADAPTED TO BE ENGAGED BY THE ARMATURE OF THE CURRENT REGULATING RELAY AND HAVING ANOTHER PORTION LOCATED ON AN OPPOSITE SIDE OF ITS PIVOT ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE ARMATURE OF THE CUT-OUT RELAY TO POSITIVELY SEPARATE THE CUT-OUT RELAY CONTACTS. 